Radiohead contributes song to Chuck Palahniuk's Choke

Fact: Chuck Palahnuik has gone on record saying he listened to an overabundance of Radiohead while writing his 2001 novel Choke.

Fact: Radiohead's "Exit Music (For A Film)" (from 1997's OK Computer) contains the lyrics, "We hope that your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one, in everlasting peace," and then repeats the phrase, "We hope that you choke."

But apparently this is not the album that inspired the novel.

No, that distinction goes to Pablo Honey, and, more specifically, the band's megahit and ode to self-deprecation, "Creep."

The connection seems to make sense on some level. One can only assume that there are several potential thought-provoking Salon-type essays waiting to be written on the
logistical similarities in raw, visceral experience of reading
Palahnuik and experiencing a live Radiohead show. At least Thom Yorke doesn't purposely make people puke at his live appearances (though that potential remix video for "Nude" seems like a launching point into that sort of thing if the fancy strikes).

"Clark Gregg, who directed the movie version of Choke that comes out in November, he knew that I’d written Choke while listening to [Radiohead’s 1993 debut album] Pablo Honey, with 'Creep,' over and over and over," Palahnuik told the BBC.

"Clark got Radiohead to contribute a song; to write a song for the very end of the movie, the final credits," Palahnuik said.

As it turns out, this information isn't exactly true. While Palahnuik had said the band will be writing a song, today a
spokesperson for the band told NME that the only song they will contribute
to the film will be "Reckoner" from In Rainbows. The original
BBC story stated the band will contribute several more songs and score
much of the film, but the spokeperson in the NME story assured them this was not the case (FYI: the film is actually scored by Nathan Larson). And a detailed report from The Playlist clears up the whole mix-up by speaking with Choke's music supervisors Ken Weinstein and Lyle Hysen, as well Fox Searchlight. The soundtrack as a whole is shaping up to be pretty indie-tastic, with songs from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, the Fiery Furnaces and Rogue Wave, as well as the aformetioned boys from Oxfordshire.

No word on whether Radiohead's next move in this artistic connection will be to write a concept album in which they reinterpret the same brief African chant "culling song" over-and-over again in a move which accidentally kills anyone who listens. Sure, the hijinks on the ensuing road trip to prevent the spread of the album/radio genocide tool would be interesting, but once the album reached Armenia, the inevitable rock beef between Yorke's crew and System Of A Down would just feel like a bit of a plot device.

After making the festival rounds, Choke is set for a theatrical release on Sept. 26. Unfortunately, as of now you cannot pay whatever you deem appropriate to see this film. Here's the trailer: